Language: Gugu Mini

Classification

This entry has been retired and is featured here only for bookkeeping purposes. Either
the entry has been replaced with one or more more accurate entries or it has been retired
because it was based on a misunderstanding to begin with.

E17 has an entry Gugu Mini [ggm] with little information beyond this name and
its classification as Rarmul Paman. The name Gugu Mini (with spelling variants)
has been applied to two distinct languages, namely the Kawarrang-Ogh Undjan
cluster
( Bruce A. Sommer 1997 :1-3 ,
Bruce A. Sommer 1976 :133-144 ) and to Ikarranggal-Angkula-Alungul
[ikr]
( Bruce A. Sommer no date :1-2 , Bruce A. Sommer 1976 :133-144 ),
but only Ikarrangal-Angkula-Alungul is Rarmul Paman. This implies that Gugu Mini
[ggm] duplicates the Ikarrangal [ikr] entry and should either be removed or
changed to mean Kawarrang-Ogh Undjan,
which is otherwise missing from E17. See also: Ikaranggal [ikr].

Retired in ISO 639-3: This name is a cover term for several related languages and is not an individual language.

Gugu Mini” is apparently a generic term meaning “good speech” that is used for
several languages in the Thaypan area. The original ISO-addition request noted
this when they cited the AIATSIS entry, which is no. Y94 in their data base.
There are word lists under the name “Gugu Mini” that AIATSIS labels as
“potential data”, but no confirmed new language. (See “status” below.) The
AIATSIS entry for Y94 "Gugu Mini" is as follows:

AIATSIS Code: Y94
AIATSIS reference name: Gugu Mini

Comment: According to Rigsby (2005:138), Gugu Mini is a language name whose
reference is shifting, variable and wide-ranging and that it variably signifies
languages situated on the mainland south of Flinders Island all the way south to
Normanton. Sommer (2008 p.c.) says that Kuku Mini (Y94) literally means ‘speech
good’ and in general it applies to languages/dialects of the Central Paman type.

It is not clear whether Gugu Mini refers to a group of related
languages/dialects, or simply a group of both related and unrelated
languages/dialects. If the former is the case, Gugu Mini can be treated as a
cover term or a language name.

In this database, Gugu Mini is tentatively listed as a language name, and the
location of this language on the map is based on Tindale (1974), who uses
Kokomini (Y94) to refer to one specific tribe.